This invention relates to the field of systems for the gravity-assisted transfer of liquid or dry material from one container into another, specifically to a dispensing system, and a method for its manufacture, which has a threaded bottle cap style of dispensing assembly that can be securely locked into a paired receptacle to provide both hands-free and spill-free material transfer. The restrictive configuration of the receptacle, specific to that of its paired dispensing assembly, prevents similar locking connection with nearly all other types of dispensing assemblies. Also, the spring-biased valve closure member of the paired dispensing assembly remains in a closed configuration to block material flow until the dispensing assembly becomes fully seated within the receptacle. Flow only occurs while the dispensing assembly is within the receptacle and is blocked again as soon as the dispensing assembly begins to be drawn away from the receptacle. The present invention dispensing assembly comprises a bottle cap member, valve closure member, coil spring, spring nut, spring housing upwardly depending from the bottom inside surface bottle cap member, small holes through the bottom surface of the bottle cap member adjacent to the spring housing, and at least one notch through the bottom rim of the bottle cap member with a side channel adjacent to and above the rim. Further, the spring housing has a top central opening through which the activation pin of the valve closure member is inserted when it is in both its open position immediately above the spring housing and its closed position engaging the upper surface of the spring housing. In its closed position, the valve closure member covers the small holes through the bottom surface of the bottle cap member and blocks material flow. The receptacle of the present invention has a housing with an upper opening sufficiently wide for receipt of the entire bottle cap member, a protrusion on its inside surface at a height allowing the protrusion to enter the bottle cap member""s side channel and the channel to rotate relative to the protrusion once the dispensing assembly is fully positioned within the receptacle, a discharge opening centrally through the bottom of the housing, an upper flange radially extending from the upper opening for use in secure positioning of the receptacle housing during connection and disconnection of the dispensing assembly, and a spring nut engagement member secured within the discharge opening. Optionally, the receptacle can have a hinged dust cap configured to temporarily seal its upper opening between material transfer uses. To initiate material flow with the present invention, one first attaches the threaded end of dispensing assembly to an upright container holding material targeted for transfer, and secures the paired receptacle to the top portion of the intended receiving vessel. The holding container is then inverted, without any of the material therein being spilled, and the bottom rim of the bottle cap member moved toward the receptacle. As the holding container is manipulated to insert the connected bottle cap member into the receptacle, one must rotate the bottle cap member relative to the receptacle while simultaneously moving the bottle cap member longitudinally closer to the receptacle bottom, so that the protrusion on the inside surface of the receptacle is able to pass through a notch in the bottom rim to enter the side channel adjacent to the bottom rim. When the bottle cap member becomes fully seated within the receptacle, several things happen. The top surface of the spring nut engagement member in the receptacle pushes against the tip of the activation pin to unseat the valve closure member a short distance to initiate material flow, and continued rotation of the bottle cap member repositions the channel relative to the protrusion to transport the notch away from the protrusion and thereby lock the dispensing assembly to the receptacle. The coil spring within the spring housing automatically draws the valve closure member back into its seated position against the spring housing once counter-rotation occurs and the activation pin attached to the valve closure member is drawn away from the spring nut engagement member in the receptacle. The disk-like spring nut situated at one end of the spring near the open end of the spring housing, has a cutout pattern that assists alignment of the spring nut engagement member with the tip of the activation pin for even lifting and reseating of the valve closure member against the spring housing. One contemplated application of the dispensing system herein is by manufacturers of equipment requiring periodic renewal of dry and liquid materials for their operation to limit the supply source of such materials.
For most industrial and commercial dispensing applications, a spill-free transfer of liquid and dry materials from a holding container to a receiving vessel is desired. When a spill-free transfer is attempted by hand, typically the holding container for the material to be dispensed is at least partially inverted by the operator to initiate gravity-assisted flow of the material into the receiving vessel. The receptacle into which the gravity-assisted flow of material is directed can be on the top of the receiving vessel, or on a vertical surface near to the receiving vessel""s upper surface. If it is left up to the operator to uncover the dispensing opening on the holding container and simply align it with the receptacle in the receiving vessel while upending the holding container, spills will undoubtedly occur. Even if a dispensing cap were used that restricted the size of the dispensing opening during upending, or aligned it with the receptacle while the operator held it close to or against the top of the receptacle during the entire period of material transfer, it is still expected that occasional spills would occur. Also, if the entire contents of the holding container does not need to be transferred, it would be difficult to right the holding container without spilling at least a little of the non-transferred material. The best means for spill-free gravity-assisted transfer of dry or liquid material from an inverted holding container into a stably positioned receiving vessel would involve a dispensing cap that did not allow transfer of material to begin until the dispensing cap was firmly secured to the receptacle in the receiving vessel, a dispensing cap that could stand alone in a locking type of engagement with the receptacle in the receiving vessel, without operator support during material transfer, and a dispensing cap that could be manipulated to block transfer of any material remaining in the holding container immediately prior to disengagement of the dispensing cap from the receptacle. The present invention provides all of these advantages, and further provides the advantage of its bottle cap assembly having a spring nut with a cutout pattern that only allows engagement with a paired receptacle having a spring nut engagement member with a specific and complementary configuration. Thus, the source of replacement materials added to a receiving vessel could be controlled and limited to only those materials in holding containers fitted with dispensing cap assemblies that are configured for full insertion within the receiving vessel""s receptacle and interaction with the receptacle""s spring nut engagement member to initiate material flow.
The prior art thought to be the most closely related to the present invention is the invention disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,960,840 to Simmel (1999). The Simmel invention is also a locked product-dispensing valve assembly. However, there are important differences between the present invention and the Simmel invention, a significant one being that the Simmel product-dispensing valve assembly is not inserted completely within its paired tank adapater, as can be seen in FIGS. 4 and 29. The portion of the Simmel invention attached to the dispensing container has a substantially cylindrical housing with a lower flat plate portion that includes circumferential protrusions in the form of locking fins or tabs. The inside of the cylindrical housing contains the lower half of a cam track and its outer surface contains a circumferential ledge. Also, on the inside surface of the cylindrical housing, between the cam track and the flat plate portion, there is a beveled zone. The upper surface of the cam track is provided by an insert positioned within an adapter having a radially extending flange on its lower edge that engages the circumferential ledge on the cylindrical housing. The insert, adapter, and cylindrical housing are secured to a product container with a threaded retaining ring. A pivot valve member is positioned within the combination formed by the concentric cylindrical housing, adapter, and insert. The pivot valve member has a lower sealing disk and upper fins that move within the cam track, the pivot valve member being rotatable relative to the cylindrical housing. When the pivot valve member is in a closed position relative to the cylindrical housing, the sealing disk rests against the beveled edge. To activate the Simmel product valve dispensing assembly, and move the sealing disk away from the beveled zone, the upper fins would be rotated along the cam track until reaching its end, further movement thereafter becomes longitudinal to create a gap between the sealing disk and the beveled zone. To accomplish the longitudinal displacement that activates product-dispensing, the Simmel product-dispensing valve assembly is mated with and locked to a dilution tank adapter so that an activation pin on the tank adapter becomes inserted into a receiving zone within the lower part of the pivot valve member. The Simmel tank adapter has a cylindrical base with a centrally positioned upstanding activation pin, a flange outwardly extending from its open end, notches between the base and the flange to accommodate each of the tabs on the flat plate portion of the cylindrical housing in its product-dispensing valve assembly, and channels associated with the notches so that each channel has an open end at the notch and a opposed end terminating at an abutment stop. Once the tabs on the flat plate portion of the cylindrical housing of the Simmel product-dispensing valve assembly are inserted into the notches, the tabs are projected downwardly into the channels whereafter a rotational movement places each tab against a different one of the abutment stop and locks the product-dispensing valve assembly to the tank adapter. As the tabs move downwardly into the channels, the upstanding activation pin in the tank adapter becomes positioned within the receiving zone in the pivot valve member which allows the receiving zone and attached pivot valve member to be drawn downwardly away from the stationary cylindrical housing so that a product-dispensing gap is formed between the sealing disk adjacent to the receiving zone and the beveled zone on the cylindrical housing adjacent to the flat plat portion from which the tabs outwardly depend. In contrast, although having an overall function similar to that of the Simmel invention, the construction of the present is different, less complex, and reversed in part from the Simmel invention. While the Simmel invention has circumferential tabs on the flat plate portion of the cylindrical housing in its product-dispensing valve assembly which each engage a corresponding notch in its tank adapter for locking engagement between the product-dispensing valve assembly and the tank adapter, the present invention uses one or more protrusions attached to the inside surface of its receptacle that engage the notches in the bottom rim of its associated bottle cap member. Also, the bottle cap member of the present invention, upon which its valve closure member is seated, is made from a unitary construction, while the product-dispensing valve assembly, to which the pivoting valve member of the Simmel invention is engaged, comprises a four-piece unit consisting of a cylindrical housing, a threaded retaining ring, an adapter, and an insert concentric within the adapter. Further, the pivoting valve member of the Simmel invention has a different structure than the valve closure member of the present invention. The Simmel pivoting valve member has fins on one of its ends, a sealing disk on its opposed end, and a central receiving zone within the end of the pivoting valve member that is connected to the sealing disk. In contrast, the valve closure member of the present invention has a substantially cylindrical main body with one open end, an outwardly directed flange adjacent to the open end, and an activation pin centrally connected to the inside surface of the closed end and extending through the main body and beyond the open end, with the outer edge of the flange having a slight amount of curvature away from the closed end. In the present invention, the lifting of the valve closure member away from its spring housing valve seat to allow material flow through small holes at the base of the spring housing, is caused by the top of the spring nut engagement member that is attached within the dispensing opening in the receptacle connecting with the tip of the activation pin of the valve closure member and exerting a force on it while the activation pin is centered within a coil spring positioned within the spring housing and secured in the central position in the spring housing by a spring nut. In contrast, product flow in the Simmel invention is activated when a gap is created between the sealing disk on one end of the pivoting valve member with a beveled zone adjacent to the flat plate portion of the cylindrical housing. To create that gap, the upstanding activation pin attached to the bottom inside surface of the tank adapter, and having an upper surface with a configuration complementary to the receiving zone in the base of the pivoting valve member, must engage the receiving zone. Also, the fingers on the other end of the pivoting valve member must be inserted within the cam track formed in part by the cylindrical housing, whereafter when the locking tabs depending circumferentially from the flat plate portion of the cylindrical housing adjacent to the beveled zone are aligned with notches in the upper wall of the tank adapter and movement in both rotational and longitudinal directions is exerted upon the cylindrical housing, the fingers of the pivoting valve member follow the cam track which causes the sealing disk to be withdrawn from the beveled zone at the position in the cam track corresponding to the abutment stop. Although both Simmel and the present invention use a combination of longitudinal and rotational movement to lock a cap to a receptacle, the Simmel invention uses rotation of its pivoting valve member along the cam track, followed by a longitudinal movement of its combination cap toward the tank adapter to release product into its tank adapter, while in contrast the present invention uses rotation of the bottle cap member to align the protrusion on the inside receptacle wall with a notch, longitudinal movement of the entire cap assembly relative to the receptacle so that the protrusion moves through the notch and into a horizontally extending channel, followed by further rotational movement of the bottle cap assembly relative to the receptacle to move a stop secured within the channel into contact with the protrusion, and thus lock the bottle cap assembly and the receptacle together for secure spill-free transfer. When the receptacle is attached to a stably positioned docking station, material transfer can proceed hands-free once the bottle cap assembly is locked to the receptacle. It is the longitudinal movement of the bottle cap assembly in the present invention that brings the top of the spring nut engagement member sufficiently into contact with the tip of the activation pin to lift the valve closure member a short distance above the spring housing so that the small holes adjacent to the base of the spring housing are revealed and made available for material transfer. The present invention has a simpler design than the Simmel invention, and is less expensive and easier to manufacture. There is no dispensing cap system known that has the same construction as the present invention, nor one that has all of its advantages.
The primary object of this invention is to provide a dispensing cap system that allows spill-free transfer of liquid and dry material from an inverted holding container into a receiving vessel. It is a further object of this invention to provide a dispensing cap system that allows hands-free material transfer once its dispensing cap assembly is locked into its corresponding receptacle and while the receptacle is attached to a balanced and stable docking station. It is also an object of this invention to provide a dispensing cap system that prevents material flow from the inverted holding container prior to the engagement of its dispensing cap assembly with the targeted receptacle, and blocks flow of any material remaining in the inverted holding container as it is lifted from the receptacle after material transfer. A further object of this invention is to provide a dispensing cap system that can be used to limit the source of material transferred spill-free into the receiving vessel. It is also an object of this invention to provide a dispensing cap system that has a relatively simple design for cost-effective manufacture, so that the dispensing cap assembly can be optionally discarded or recycled after use. A further object of this invention is to provide a dispensing cap system that is easy to use and can be easily cleaned between uses when it is desired to do so prior to reuse.
As described herein, properly manufactured and used, the dispensing cap system of the present invention has a dispensing cap assembly that can be attached by threaded engagement to the neck around the transfer opening of a holding container for liquid or dry material, is completely separable from its paired receptacle, and restricts transfer of the dry or liquid material from the holding container while it is in a fully or partially inverted position until, and only when, the dispensing cap assembly is in close association with its paired receptacle. Thus, material transfer from the holding container into a receiving vessel attached to a paired receptacle is always spill-free. Material transfer through use of the present invention is also hands-free when the targeted receptacle is installed securely within a receiving vessel that is configured and dimensioned for balanced and stable positioning while the holding container is positioned above it in an inverted transfer position, and in locked connected with the receptacle. The receptacle can be attached to the top surface of a receiving vessel, or to a vertical or near vertical surface of the receiving vessel near to its top end. To initiate gravity-assisted material flow, once the dispensing cap assembly of the present invention is attached to a holding container, the holding container is inverted at least in part, and the entire dispensing cap assembly, including its vertically ridged outside surface, is inserted within the receptacle and the protrusion attached to the inside receptacle wall is aligned with a notch in the bottom rim of the bottle cap member so that it can enter the side channel spaced apart from and below the vertically ridged outside surface of the bottle cap member, the holding container can be rotated so that the protrusion follows the side channel until the protrusion abuts against a stop in the channel that is centrally positioned between the two notches. With the protrusion in a position adjacent to the stop, the dispensing cap assembly is in a position of locking engagement with its corresponding receptacle, which cannot be released until the dispensing cap assembly is again rotated relative to the receptacle and the protrusion is again aligned with a notch in the bottom rim. Until the protrusion on the receptacle is inserted beyond a notch on the bottom rim, the valve closure member in the dispensing cap assembly remains in its closed position against the outer surface of the spring housing, where it covers the small holes adjacent to the base of the spring housing used for material transfer, preventing any transfer of material from an associated inverted holding container. As the protrusion is pushed beyond the notch and into the side channel of the bottle cap member, the spring nut engagement member in the dispensing opening of the receptacle is placed in contact with the tip of the activation pin whereby the valve closure member is fractionally lifted from its closed position against the spring housing to provide fluid communication between the interior of an associated inverted holding container and the small holes adjacent to the outside surface of the spring housing, thus allowing material transfer into the receptacle to begin. The dry or liquid material in the associated holding container then enters the receptacle, and gravity moves it downward toward the flukes on the outside surface of the spring nut engagement member that is secured within the discharge opening in the central bottom portion of the receptacle, whereafter the material flows between the flukes and through the discharge opening to enter the transfer opening in a receiving vessel. In the alternative, the material transfer can be made into tubing or a chute connected to the receiving vessel. In the reverse, material transfer is terminated prior to disengagement of the bottle cap member from the receptacle, as the withdrawal of the bottom rim beyond the protrusion on the inside surface of the receptacle causes separation of the spring nut engagement member from the tip of the activation pin, allowing the valve closure member to again assume its closed position blocking the small holes near to the base of the spring housing used for material flow from the inverted holding container to the receiving vessel. Since the material flow is blocked prior to material transfer, and terminated prior to separation of the bottle cap member from the receptacle after the amount of required dispensing occurs, no spilled liquid or dry material is possible at any time. Between material transfers, a dust cap can be placed over the upper opening in the receptacle to prevent unwanted objects or other materials from entering the interior of the receptacle. Also, since only a spring nut engagement member having an outer surface design configured for engaging the cutout pattern in the spring nut can reach the tip of the activation pin to lift the valve closure member from the outer surface of the spring housing and thereby initiate material transfer, the source of materials placed spill-free into the receptacle is limited to a dispensing cap assembly having the specific indicated design. Further, the dispensing cap system of the present invention is relatively simple in design, which makes it cost-effective to manufacture, disposable in appropriate applications, easy to use, and easily cleaned between uses when reuse is desired. The dispensing cap assembly of the present invention includes a bottle cap member with an arcuate internally-threaded open end configured for attachment to the male threads on the holding container from which a quantity of fluid or dry material must be transferred, as well as a substantially sealed end, and stepped interior walls with obtuse angles between adjacent risers. The bottle cap member further has a substantially cylindrical hollow spring housing centered within its sealed end and a small notch on a narrow ridge adjacent to the sealed end. The spring housing performs the function of a valve seat, has a small central aperture on the one of its ends positioned to face the threaded open end of the bottle cap, and also has a plurality of spaced-apart slots on its outer surface that each lead downwardly to a small hole through the closed end of the bottle cap member, and its other end being open for receipt of a coil spring. The receptacle of the present invention to which the bottle cap member becomes locked during dry or fluid material transfer into a reservoir or receiving vessel within a docking station includes a substantially cylindrical receptacle housing having an open top end, a radially extending flange adjacent to the top end, a discharge opening centrally within its bottom end, a hollow interior with stepped walls that decrease in diameter toward the bottom end, one substantially rectangular protrusion inwardly depending from the upper end of the middle interior wall, and a spring nut engagement member secured within the discharge opening. The spring nut engagement member has upper surfaces configured for partial insertion through a particular cutout pattern in the spring nut positioned at the open end of the spring housing, as well as a plurality of spaced-apart flukes radially extending from the middle and lower portions of its outside surface, with each fluke having a downwardly sloping upper surface. In addition, the flange outwardly depending from the receptacle housing provides a connection means for attachment to the docking station exterior, as well as a connection means for the attachment of a removable dust cap. Thus, when a substantially cylindrical valve closure member having a main body with a hollow interior, a closed end, and an open end, a radially extending flange adjacent to its open end, and an activation pin centrally connected to the interior surface of the closed end that downwardly extends beyond its open end, is seated upon the spring housing of the present invention with its activation pin inserted through the central aperture in the upper end of the spring housing, and a spring is connected between the upper interior surface of the spring housing and a spring nut having a particular cutout pattern so that the spring nut becomes positioned adjacent to the lower open end of the spring housing, only a receptacle housing having a spring nut engagement member with an upper surface allowing engagement with the cutout pattern in the spring nut will be able to lift the valve closure member from its spring housing valve seat and allow transfer of liquid or dry material into the targeted reservoir or receiving vessel within the docking station. Further, to lock the holding container to the reservoir and permit spill-free transfer of dry or liquid material therebetween, the protrusion on receptacle must be aligned with the bottle cap notch and a bayonet turn applied to the bottle cap to both pivot it relative to the receptacle as well as move it longitudinally toward the receptacle, before the valve closure member can be sufficiently unseated from the spring housing to allow material transfer. The dispensing system of the present invention has a simple design when compared to the prior art and can be used by manufacturers of equipment requiring periodic replacement of dry and liquid products to limit the source of those products. No dispensing cap system is known with all of the features and advantages of the present invention.
The description herein provides preferred embodiments of the present invention but should not be construed as limiting the scope of the dispensing cap system. For example, variations in the size and configuration of the cutout pattern in the spring nut; the size, number, and configuration of the small holes adjacent to the spring housing; the number of coils in the spring; the configuration, number, and size of the vertically extending slots in the spring housing; the material from which the spring nut is made; the size and configuration of the protrusion on the inside wall of the receptacle, the thickness of the narrow ridge on the bottle cap member into which the notch for the protrusion is made; the type of attachment means used to secure the receptacle to the receiving vessel; the number of attachment pins used when attachment pins provide at least part of the attachment means between the receptacle and the receiving vessel; and the length and diameter of the activation pin depending from the main body of the valve closure member; other than those shown and described herein may be incorporated into the present invention. Thus, the scope of the present invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than the examples given.